The commission that is paid to the realtor is not a rental expense and is not reported as a rental expense so there is no offsetting entries. Since the real estate commission was not paid out of your own funds, this is income as DianeW777 has stated. This is rental income since it was applied as the first month's rent.
As far as a tenant versus a landlord paying the commission, I cannot locate a verifiable source that attests to this fact thus might be a understanding of the tax law or if this was relayed to you by a non-tax professional.
Just one last note for your FYI. Real estate commissions are not deductible rental expenses. instead they are added to the cost basis of your rental house as a buying expense. When you sell the rental unit, Turbo Tax will ask if you had real estate commissions as well as other expense you paid when you bought the house. The answers here will determine your adjusted cost basis for the sale of the house.
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